You've had an amazing year so far. Does it feel like people are treating you differently now?
“Really, the only thing that's different is I'm getting more opportunities to work with talented people — I gotta find more time in the year! I love what I do. There’s nothing I want to wake up and do in the morning more. I’m not the kind of guy that doesn’t want to come to work once I have a job. Yeah, I get tired. I sometimes said, 'Whew, wow man, I need a coffee' to Jamie, Vin, and Dan. They say you're only as good as your last movie or whatever, and I've had three pretty successful films come out. If I have three unsuccessful movies come out, things will change, that’s just the way it goes. I worked just as hard on my first movie as I worked on my most recent one. That’s the only way I look at it, you’ve got to just give it everything you have, and hope that it turns out.”
Your character in White House Down is one hell of a Secret Service guy, but not really a family man. Can you tell us a bit about him?
“John Cale wasn’t the best husband for sure, he’s probably one of those dads that would be a better friend than a father. I have a very close person in my life that had their dad leave them early in life. He was never really good at relationships, but was really good at being a buddy — being just like a guy, and I think that’s John. He’s really tried to get his act together and do everything he needs to do in order to be more successful and more put together. He's living in a kind of pipe dream, though. He's not going to escape all those things he's screwed up in the past, even though he’s got lofty dreams."
How was working with Jamie Foxx? How did you two meet?
“We met in Cancun, weirdly enough. It was the Summer of Sony, and we were all at dinner. I met him very briefly, and then I went to the hotel to hang out. There were DJs up there doing their thing, but Mr. Foxx decided to take the party into his own hands, and made it an unforgettable evening. I think me and my wife looked like we just got out of the pool by the end of the night — we were just soaking wet. I mean, he was up there singing MJ and some of his own — it was an epic night. It was good stuff. We didn’t even know about this movie!"
Photo: Courtesy of Sony Pictures.
The script is very fast, funny, and filled with action, but what makes it distinctive is that you actually have an emotional journey. What's that about?
“There’s a really interesting line between keeping it very serious and keeping it entertaining. I mean, we're dealing with a complete White House takeover; all the political views are involved. We wanted it to be fun, entertaining, but smart, as well. We don’t want this to be a downer. Really, it's about two guys that come from completely different backgrounds, who go on this journey together that forces them see eye-to-eye in a way that would never have happened if they didn't go on this adventure."
What was your coolest action moment?
“I get tossed around by this ginormous Russian. I was literally picked up over his head and landed on a table. That was fun. I guess the chase is probably going to be very fun, too. We got to do a lot of fun driving stuff.”
How do you unwind after a grueling day of shooting?
“Yeah, I don’t know how you do it. I generally have little projects like I’ll either be reading, editing, or doing something to kind of just change my mind after just being jacked up the whole day. That’s it. I find little things to wind down with.”
Are you a level-headed person in a crisis?
“The closest thing I'd consider to be a crisis was when my wife and I got into a sticky situation hiking in the woods. We were on the side of a mountain, and we didn’t leave ourselves enough daylight to get out. I pretty much fell off the mountain when we were hiking back in the dark. She got me through it. So, I guess my wife keeps me level headed.”
Do you think there'll be a Magic Mike 2?
“We really want there to be. Soderbergh really wants to retire, though, so we don’t know if it will actually happen.”
What's your thought on being called the "woman whisperer?"
“No, no, that is terrible! Oh, I’m gonna get you for that one. My wife is going to be like, ‘Oh really?”